NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell sent a letter to every member of the Mardi Gras Advisory Council encouraging them to get themselves and their krewes fully vaccinated.
Co-Chairs of the Mardi Gras Advisory Council Elroy James and James Reiss were already on board with krewes getting vaccinated.
Cantrell says she believes that getting krewes vaccinated is an important step in allowing the 2022 Carnival season to happen. She also wants family and friends of each member that plan on attending the 2022 Coronation and Extravaganza to be fully vaccinated.
"As leaders in the Mardi Gras community, you can take a vital step towards making Carnival 2022 a possibility by taking the lead and showing the world we are doing everything we can to keep our citizens and visitors safe by having 100% of our parading organizations fully vaccinated," Cantrell wrote in the letter.
She adds: "Please reach out to your Krewe members and ask that they strongly consider getting vaccinations."
Cantrell says she will work with krewes to make the COVID-19 vaccine available and accessible. And she'll make representatives from homeland security, health, or EMS available to provide information on the vaccine.
"We all love Mardi Gras and recognize it as one of the cornerstone cultural events that define New Orleans and make it world renown as one of the greatest tourist destinations on the planet," Cantrell wrote. "We also know how vital Mardi Gras is to the economic health of our tourism and related industries and none of us want to see it canceled again."
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